WING CHUN WEDNESDAY: THE ROLE OF KICKING IN WING CHUN.

Our kicking is meant to distract or disable more than it is intended to damage

Where does kicking reside in a style governed by Fist Logic?

To answer this we should look to how kicking is presented in the Forms, the only Forms that have kicking are the Chum Kiu and the Dummy, the Chum Kiu is more about the IDEA, the role kicking plays, while the Dummy is closer to the practice or application.

There are three kicks in Chum Kiu that introduce three slightly different mechanics, in the first kick, first mechanism there is no weight shift and no body movement, only the Leg is active. In the second mechanism there is still no weight shift but there is rotation on the supporting leg creating a certain amount of momentum, a certain amount of thrust, and in the third mechanism there is still no initial weight shift just a turn and a thrust similar to the second finished with a late weight shift into the landing leg.

As with all of our Forms these are not suggested applications but rather a collection of IDEAS that benefit from being studied, understood in their first instance then disassembled and reassembled in new formation, rinse and repeat.

The fact that there is no weight shift is very significant, remaining in position implies that we are kicking from a defensive position, the target is coming to us as opposed to us needing to seek out a target.

Being defensive in nature the kicks are meant to function without compromising our balance or stability, on contact we are firmly pushed into our stance and Ground Force Reaction increases the payload transferred into the incoming target.

The science behind collisions, the Conservation of Momentum Theory, coupled with Ground Force Reaction enables us to deliver massive force without the need to manufacture massive force.

In the Chum Kiu Form once the kick has been completed we are for all intent and purpose standing still with our leg in the air, we then shift the weight forwards and land on the kicking leg, in application we are stepping into the attacker after the kick has landed so that we can continue the attack with our main weapon, our Hand Strikes or in the third mechanism we continue into another type of kick such as a stamp kick.

The role of kicking in Wing Chun is as a complimentary assistant, it is not as a primary weapon but as a support weapon that sets up positions and situations for deployment of our primary weapon.

Later, once we understand the core IDEAS of Biu Gee and the Knives we can manufacture greater, even massive power through our weight shifting, but even then our kicking still plays a supportive role, it is almost as if our complimentary assistant has just turned into the Incredible Hulk.

Wing Chun kicking also has a strategic role, feinting as in the charging knee and bridging the gap, these are to facilitate Fist Logic.

In the Video clip below I am not moving too well as by the end of winter { it is the third day of spring here in Oz as I write this} my poor old spine is not so flexy, but the information is sound and summer is on the way.

Our kicking is meant to distract or disable more than it is intended to damage, without the need to generate force we can be quicker and more precise, once distracted or disabled our opponent will drop their guard or lose their shape allowing us to do what we do best.